creative placemaking

Brew Review by Tim Walton of #TimsNYKitchen: Mad Jack Brewing Co.

July 28, 2020 By wordpress

Meet Tim Walton, the mastermind behind #TimsNYKitchen, an Instagram site with over 12,ooo followers. Tim travels, eats and drinks his way through the Capital Region, and we asked him to pick his favorite brewery / restaurant. So — drum roll, please — here’s Tim’s pick: Mad Jack Brewing Co. in Schenectady. Read on to find out why Tim’s mad about Mad Jack.

To find 100+ more CapNY breweries, cideries, distilleries and wineries, click here!

The History

Mad Jack Brewing Co. is Schenectady’s first craft brewery, located in Schenectady’s beautiful and historic Stockade District. It opened in 2011. The brewery is tied together with The Van Dyck, a charming building that has hosted many wonderful talents, including great jazz musicians such as Earl Hines, Teddy Wilson, Roy Eldridge, Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Brubeck, Mose Allison, Marian McPartland, Coleman Hawkins, Hank Jones and Thelonious Monk.

If the walls could speak I think they would ramble on forever and a day about all the great times and bad times it has experienced throughout its history. The Van Dyck opened in 1947 by Harlem refugee Marvin Friedman and since 2009, has been owned by the McDonald family.

The Beer

Take a seat at the bar and one will find that they have 10+ house taps at any given time. The Master Brewer, Brian Conley puts a lot of love into the brews he creates and is very passionate about what he produces. He’s not afraid to try new things with his ‘Mad Science’ line of brews and collaborations with many local bars/breweries. Some of my favorite’s brews are the Fightin’ Irwin IPA, Mohawk Sunset and Electric Hefe. The Fightin’ Irwin IPA actually has a true fighting story with a happy ending. The beer is named after two McDonald cousins that would fight but shortly after, would patch things up over a beer. I think it’s great that beer can have the positive influence of binding people together even when things aren’t perfect.

The Food

Mad Jack offers some wonderful eats to enjoy as well. They recently have revamped their menu and there’s something for everyone. I recently tried their new buttermilk crispy chicken sandwich. This sandwich consists of buttermilk-soaked tenders, floured and fried with bacon, lettuce, tomato, spicy pepper jack cheese & chipotle mayo for that extra oomph.

The Community

Their staff, from bartenders to cooks, are super friendly and always go above and beyond to assist. Mad Jack supports many positive local efforts throughout the community and is willing to help out whenever they are able. If you haven’t visited here, I strongly recommend it. If you have, you know what I write to be true. Keep your eyes peeled for more articles about local breweries, as I sip and taste my way through New York’s Cap Region.

Mad Jack Brewing Company
Address: 237 Union Street, Schenectady, NY 12305
Phone: 518-348-7999
Website
Facebook
Instagram

Connect with Tim!
Instagram
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CapNY Creative Highlight: Steve Derrick

July 16, 2020 By wordpress

Weary, tired, brave, bruised, and raw, Steve Derrick’s paintings depict the spirit of healthcare heroes on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis. Derrick has painted more than 70 portraits of doctors, nurses and other workers from the Cap Region to Italy, Spain, the UK, and cities across the globe.

A resident of Clifton Park and Director of Organizational Development at digital game giant Vicarious Visions, Derrick is an artist in many senses of the word. To escape the overwhelm of the pandemic, he engaged in painting. He says, “there was so much negativity on the news. This gave me something positive to think about while sitting in quarantine.”

We sat down with Derrick at Albany Center Gallery (ACG), where he exhibited his work in a show called “Healing: Portraits of the Pandemic…” Watch the video below!

Derrick began posting his paintings on social media and they received immediate attention. This was new territory for him; he usually doesn’t show his work. He credits ACE with being the first outlet to cover his paintings. His work inspired us to begin the ACE Creatives in Quarantine Gallery, which received coverage from the Times Union. This was just the beginning of the national attention Derrick has received.

Interview with CBS News, “On the Road with Steve Hartman”

KUTV 2 in Utah aired Derrick’s story a few weeks ago. On July 17th, he was featured on CBS News “On the Road with Steve Hartman.” Watch the video below!

After including their professionals in some paintings, Albany Medical Center acknowledged and thanked him in their weekly update, after he painted several of their staff.

On July 21st, Derrick was also featured in a CNN article, which can be read here!

You can view more of his work by visiting the gallery or by following him on Facebook or Instagram.

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CapNY Creative Highlight: Kulton The Maker

July 8, 2020 By wordpress

Kulton The Maker is a music star and entrepreneur on the rise in Hudson. His music pulls in elements from R&B, hip hop, pop, and other genres. His melodic vibes, rhythmic smoothness and thoughtful lyrics made us want to learn more about where he has been and where he is going…read on!

How did you become enthralled in the music scene?

Before I started making music, I founded 518 Films. I wanted to shoot music videos. Originally, I was an actor, a director, and was part of a lot of plays in musical theater and Shakespeare. I wanted roles where I could direct a narrative for People of Color but kept getting violent, villainous, and misogynistic roles.

After dropping out of Full Sail University, I bought a camera, started teaching myself film and began freelancing. After shooting some music videos, I got booked to film a music tour documentary for Lady Moon and the Eclipse (also from the Hudson area).

Did your work and experience with Lady Moon and the Eclipse inspire you to take the leap into making music?

I was riding in a van with some band members on tour and at the time, there was some music I had been working on. I hadn’t released it yet, but I played one of my songs for them, without telling them it was me, and they were like “wow, who is this?” They didn’t believe me when I told them it was me. After that, they offered me a job opening up for them, in addition to filming the documentary. We stopped in Jersey, DC, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and New Orleans. I toured with them three times and also had the opportunity to shoot a music video with Young Paris, an artist who signed with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label.

Inspired by what I saw on tour, I thought to myself, “I can do this.” I started recording A Beautiful Something, which was in production over three years – that was the birth of Kulton The Maker. I’m currently working on a new project. I just released a single last week, “In The Mood,” you can listen to it here.

What challenges have you faced along your journey?

Systemic racism. I’ve been told that I’m not “good enough” because of the color of my skin. They told me I couldn’t do or be certain things. People called me white because I spoke properly. I haven’t let that narrative defeat me. I’ve made it my life’s work to combat that narrative and change the way people see themselves. If you listen for it, you’ll hear some of these thoughts in my music.

What piece of advice would you like to leave for aspiring musicians and entrepreneurs?

Never give up. Go beyond your limits. Take in as much valid and factual information as you can. Do the research. Self-study. I want people to wake up and realize they have value. We have to come together to make this planet sustainable and livable for ALL OF US, or it won’t work for any of us. I want to see the world change.

Hear more of his music:
“A Beautiful Something” Album: Spotify, Apple, YouTube
New Single, “In The Mood”: Spotify, Apple, Youtube

Connect with Kulton The Maker

Facebook or Instagram

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CapNY Relocation Stories: Chrissy and Ben Traore

July 8, 2020 By Maureen Sager

Chrissy and Ben Traore met while working in a New York City restaurant. Soon, they were commuting upstate on weekends for a cooking gig. To their great surprise, they began dreading going back to Brooklyn during the week. “We’ve always worked 70 to 100 hours a week,” Chrissy said. “And the city and the expenses just added stress to all of that.” Something had to give. So, by 2017, they settled in Cairo, a small, rural town in Greene County, about ten miles outside of Catskill.

Together, they founded S ee and Be Kitchen and Cafe. Their funky, functional, multi-building “compound” met all of their dreams. There’s a prep kitchen inside of a storage container (they insulated it themselves) and outdoor wood-fired oven for baking bread. Plus, there’s a chicken house and pen, and café / retail shop. Additionally, outdoor seating plans are in the works, in the shaded, rustic grounds.

See and Be’s Breads and Business Plan

Ben began baking bread in Burkina Faso, a West African country near Ivory Coast and Ghana. He uses a sourdough base for all of his products, including gorgeous croissants, pastries, and a full line of breads. The starter is fermented for 48 hours, making a refined and gorgeous loaf that even gluten-sensitive customers can digest (yep, this writer can vouch for that — and it’s fantastic).

The baking life isn’t easy. Ben goes to bed by 6 or 7pm, in order to tend to the wood-burning oven by 2am every day. Chrissy has pivoted their baking and food businesses from farmers markets to wholesale distribution, and now to online ordering and curbside pickups during COVID. Oh, and did we mention that they’ve also got an 18-month-old son in the mix now? These bakers are BUSY!

Chrissy utilizes Ben’s breads in all of her food creations, including a weekend sandwich selection. You can place online orders here, and pick them up at See and Be from Wednesdays through Saturdays.

“We’ve always taken things one step at a time,” said Chrissy. “We have room to grow here, and space to breathe. I want to let people know that they should not be afraid to try something new. We’re building something that is ours.”

Connect with See and Be Kitchen

Address:
512 New York 145
Cairo, NY 12413, US
Phone: (518) 719-9229
Email
Website
Facebook
Instagram

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CapNY Black-Owned Business Highlight: Ada Harper

June 24, 2020 By wordpress

Ada Harper is the force behind 518Blk, a site for the Black community to discover events and information across the Cap Region. Ada created 518Blk in 2015 as an outlet to celebrate cultural, educational, social, cultural things happening in the Black community.

No. The media outlets were not featuring content about events happening in the community of color. There was one beloved newsletter that was geared toward the Black community when I was a kid. The granddaughter of its creator recently created CNYS Black Expo. This event has been put on for the past two years and is growing. Its main function is to celebrate Black entrepreneurship.

How did 518Blk evolve?

When I first started 518Blk, I was working on my master’s degree and got a certificate in social media management. I decided it was time to contribute to the social climate by creating my own events. A lot of people would travel to NYC for different experiences that we could have right here at home. I hosted brunches and collaborated with others on various community events. It was uplifting and positive, but I became a caretaker after a family member was involved in a car accident. Soon, the role became overwhelming and I stepped back from 518Blk.

What has inspired you to activate the mission of 518Blk again?

The social unrest of police brutality and the injustices happening to Black people. Recent events caused me to sit quietly and process this reality. Some people were reaching out to me asking why I wasn’t posting anything. They were asking me to promote protests, etc. I just had to stop. I had to figure out the “why” behind 518Blk – I was at a crossroads.

Finally, I had a clearer vision of what I wanted. I want to put on bigger and better events, find sponsors, and collaborate with Black-owned businesses. My vision is for a rebrand. I need to reach out to find people who can work on my team.

In order for 518Blk to get additional exposure, horrible things had to happen to Black people. I was plugging along, but not getting much visibility. Due to recent events, white people are asking “how can we help Black people?” I will take this as an opportunity to challenge myself and elevate my brand because what I’m doing with 518Blk is valid and deserves visibility. As Black people, we have to control our narrative and celebrate each other.